Latest News

Cash seized from criminals awarded to Lancashire projects

Vulnerable people, victims of abuse and children from deprived areas are among those who will benefit from money that has been seized from criminals in Lancashire.

Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw today announced the 15 successful applicants to get a share of almost £500,000 that has been recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Individual grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 will be used to support a wide range of projects across the county including sports activities for young people, women’s shelters for victims of domestic violence, and support for victims of sexual abuse.

Funding will go to groups across Lancashire whose projects met the criteria for the scheme and will help support the Commissioner’s priorities of defending frontline policing, protecting vulnerable people, tackling crime and reoffending, and supporting victims.

The decision was announced at Burnley FC’s Turf Moor stadium – home of one of the successful applicants, Burnley FC in the Community – today.

Mr Grunshaw said: “I am delighted to have had the chance to meet some of the people who will be putting this money to good use right across Lancashire.

“We thought long and hard about the best way to use this money, which was taken from criminals, and we decided to reinvest some of it into the community. We looked for organisations that are helping to keep Lancashire safe and supporting the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan.

“I was amazed by the quality of the submissions we received and I’m delighted so many excellent projects will benefit from this money.

“We were overwhelmed by the amount of interest in this scheme and we will be working closely with many of those who were unsuccessful this time to see if we can find other ways to help get their projects off the ground.”

Applications worth £3.6m were received and each application was judged against set criteria and those that met the required standard were awarded grants ranging from £5,000 to £100,000.

A full list of where the money is going is below. The successful applicants who were present at today’s event were:

Burnley FC in the Community – £20,000 to support diversionary activities to support young people in some of the most deprived areas of Lancashire.

Newground – £19,455 to buy furniture and IT equipment for the new Shadsworth Community Hub to assist with delivering an education programme aimed at adults to help identify the warning signs of extremism and right-wing radicalisation in children. Other programmes tackle issues including: bullying, hate crime and anti-social behaviour

Enlighten – £100,000 to support an early intervention project in Blackpool aimed at young people who have been victims of sexual abuse and are showing early signs of sexual aggression or are at risk of victimisation. The funding will provide psychiatric help and access to mental health wellbeing services.

Skelmersdale Action For Youth – £22,000 to support the ‘Let’s Get Active’ project in connection with Wigan Athletic FC, delivering sports activities for young people.

Preston Community Safety Partnership – £57,000 to extend and improve the CCTV network in Preston City Centre.

Mr Grunshaw added: “There is a fantastic range of work being done in our communities and the different organisations who will benefit from this money is a great example of that. These grants mean they will be able to continue their excellent work, expand into new parts of Lancashire or even set up new schemes to broaden the services on offer in our county.

“I am pleased this money, taken from criminals in Lancashire, will be used to support victims of crime, protect vulnerable people, tackle crime and re-offending and defend frontline policing.

“I look forward to meeting with some of these groups to hear more about the exciting work they are doing in the county.”

The full list of successful applicants, showing where and how the money will be spent:

East Division

HARV Domestic Abuse Services, Accrington – £50,000

Money towards cost of purchasing two new buildings in Accrington to house staff and provide support services to victims of abuse.

Pendle Action for the Community – £16,788

Providing one-to-one support for victims of domestic abuse and training staff.

Burnley FC in the Community – £20,000

Funding to help expand the ‘Kicks’ project in Burnley aimed at bringing communities together and reduce anti-social behaviour and youth crime by engaging young people, particularly in deprived areas.

Newground, Blackburn – £19,455

For purchasing furniture and IT equipment to go in the new Shadsworth Community Hub. This will help with provision of education sessions, including educating adults to recognise the warning signs in children relating to extremism or right-wing radicalisation.

Families Health & Wellbeing Consortium, Burnley – £35,000

Extending the MEAM project into Burnley (currently in Blackburn), to help provide support to adults with complex needs.

Ynot Aspire, East Lancashire – £9,999

An early action intervention project in East Lancashire working with year 8 pupils to prevent crime and cell visits to act as a deterrent.

Every Action Has Consequences, Lancashire (based in Blackburn) – £14,700

Project to educate young people about alcohol-related harm and violence. The money will fund further training and educational packs to hand out to young people.

Calico Enterprise Limited, East Lancashire – £21,000

Extending an existing pilot project working with people with histories of offending and substance misuse, including accommodation for those who are homeless.

South Division

Skelmersdale Action For Youth – £22,000

Sports activities for young people identified as on the periphery of gang crime and violence in the Skelmersdale area.

Preston Community Safety Partnership – £57,000

Money to extend and improve the CCTV network in Preston

Ingol and Tanterton Community Trust (Intact) – £13,853

Improve security at the building, which has been broken into recently, to help tackle ASB.

The Haythornthwaite Sports Foundation, Preston – £5,000

Sports programmes aimed at young people identified as vulnerable and at risk of isolation.

West Division

Fylde Veterans CIC, Fylde coast – £41,100

Funding to enable veterans to steward events and parades in Lancashire that would otherwise require a police presence, freeing up officers for other police work.

Fylde Coast Women’s Aid – £17,922

Refurbishment and additional security measures at three women’s refuges – in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

Enlighten, Blackpool – £100,000

Pilot project in Blackpool offering therapeutic support to young people who have been victims of sexual abuse and are showing signs of sexual aggression or harmful behaviour, and therefore at risk of further victimisation.